Saturday, October 19, 2013

First Woman in Saudia Arabia Awarded License to Practice Law

In 2012, women made up 31.1 percent of all lawyers in the United States. In 1970, this figure was just 4.9 percent, so women are making great professional strides in the field of law. However, in other countries, this is by far not the case. In Saudia Arabia, the first female lawyer was just recently given a license to practice law. She can now open up her own law firm.

Although there are more than 1,225,000 attorneys in the U.S. of which women represent about one third, there are only 4 women lawyers in Saudia Arabia. One was recently allowed to practice law in open court by the country's ministry of justice. Prior to this, women were limited to advising as legal consultants with limited contact with clients. This recent action represents a significant break for female lawyers.
This does not mean it will now be easy for women to practice law in Saudia Arabia. Women will no doubt have to continue to struggle with judges who may not be so open-minded about their practicing law. Some judges actually segregate men from women in the courtroom and have the right to take cases away from female lawyers, just because they are female.

This eye-opening news will come as nothing less than shocking to many American women who have freedom to choose any career path they want to pursue. How fortunate we are that women in the U.S. have not only unlimited career choices but also sources for grants and loans that can help them establish their careers.